Phil! Gold :: 26 Aug 2018

Sun, 26 Aug 2018

RampingIOS V2 Manual

The Emisar D4, D1, and D1S
flashlights all use a firmware named RampingIOS V2. (The earliest D4s
were released with V1, but there aren't many of those around. The Emisar
D4S uses RampingIOS V3.) There's not
really a manual; the only thing we get is the diagram on the right. It's
pretty comprehensive, but I thought a textual manual would be nice, so I
decided to write one.

The Emisar lights only work when the head and tailcap are tightened fully.
You can physically lock out the lights--prevent them from turning on
accidentally--by simply loosening the tailcap a small amount. A quarter
turn will do it.

The lights use a ramping interface. Rather than have a small number of
distinct brightness levels, they can vary their brightness anywhere
between their lowest and highest levels, like a light on a dimmer.

The drivers for the lights have two different chipsets. At low brightness
levels, a fairly-efficient but low-power chipset (called a 7135) is
used. These lowest brightness levels are called the "regulated levels".
Each regulated level will always be the same brightness regardless of how
much charge the battery has. Above a particular brightness level, the
light switches over to a less-efficient but high-power chipset (called a
FET). These levels are called "direct-drive". The brightness of the
direct-drive levels is directly related to the battery's charge level; the
more charged the battery, the brighter the levels. The lights are at
their most efficient, in terms of power used for every lumen generated, at
the brightest regulated level. When the light is first powered by
tightening the tailcap, it will default to this level.

At higher brightness levels, the lights' LEDs generate a lot of heat. If
a light exceeds its configured maximum temperature, it will begin dimming
itself automatically until the temperature drops below the allowed
maximum.

Basic Usage

While the light is off, press and release the button (1 click) to turn
it on. It will turn on at the last-used brightness level. (This is
called "mode memory".) Immediately after loosening and tightening the
tailcap (or after changing the battery), the default level will be the
light's max regulated level.

When the light is on, 1 click will turn it off. The current brightness
level will be memorized for future use.

When the light is on, holding the button down with gradually brighten the
light ("ramping up"). If you release the button and immediately hold it
again, the ramping direction will switch, so if it had been ramping up
it'll be dimming ("ramping down") afterward.

While the light is ramping, it'll briefly blink off and on again at three
different brightness levels: the minimum brightness, the maximum
brightness, and the maximum regulated level.

While the light is either on or off, double-pressing the button (2
clicks) will immediately jump to the maximum brightness level. Another
two clicks will go back to the previous brightness level. If the light
was off before the the initial two clicks, the second two clicks will go
to the memorized brightness level.

While the light is off, if you hold the button the light will turn on at
its lowest level. If you continue holding the button, the light will
begin ramping up.

Other Modes

The other modes largely involve multiple clicks from off. They're not
generally needed for everyday use, but they supplement the light's basic
operations.

BattCheck/TempCheck Modes

From off, 3 clicks will enter "BattCheck" mode, which gives the
battery level. It blinks out the current battery voltage. First it
blinks the number of volts, then it pauses, then it blinks out the tenths
of volts. Thus, if the battery were at 3.5 volts, the light would blink
three times, pause, then five times. For zeroes, it gives a very short
blink.

A fully-charged lithium-ion battery is 4.2 volts. The light considers 2.8
volts to be an empty battery and won't turn on if the battery is at or
below 2.8 volts.

The voltage sequence will continue blinking until you turn off the light
with a single click.

While the light is in BattCheck mode, 2 clicks will enter TempCheck
mode. Instead of blinking out the battery voltage, the light will start
blinking out its current temperature in degrees Celsius, first the tens
digit then the units digit. Like BattCheck mode, the light will continue
blinking out the temperature until you turn it off with a single click.

Tactical Mode

From off, 4 clicks will enter "tactical" or "momentary" mode. The
light will flash four times to show that it's entered the mode. In
tactical mode, the light will turn on at maximum brightness for as long as
the button is being held down. It will turn off as soon as the button is
released.

Another 4 clicks will exit tactical mode. The light will flash twice to
show that it's left the mode.

Lockout Mode

From off, 6 clicks will enter lockout mode. The light will flash four
times to show that it's entered the mode. In lockout mode, the light will
not turn on, no matter how the button is pressed.

Another 6 clicks will exit lockout mode. The light will flash twice to
show that it's left the mode.

Remember that loosening the tailcap a quarter turn will also lock out the
light. Using the 6 clicks is called "electronic lockout", while turning
the tailcap is "physical lockout".

Beacon Mode

From off, 8 clicks will enter beacon mode. In beacon mode, the light
will blink on and off every two and a half seconds.

1 click will exit beacon mode.

Thermal Configuration Mode

From off, 10 or more clicks followed by holding down the button will
enter thermal configuration mode.

In thermal config mode, the light will first blink out the current maximum
temperature. As with TempCheck mode, it blinks the tens digit followed by
the units digit. If you release the button at this point, the light will
turn off and no changes to the configuration will be made.

If you continue to hold the button, the light will then flicker for a
second or so. After that, it will turn on at its maximum brightness. It
won't turn off until you release the button, which you should do when you
feel like the light has gotten too hot. The temperature at that point
will be the new maximum temperature. The light will blink out that new
maximum temperature and then turn off.